Even everyone's favorite hack from Green Bay picked the Panthers, although he took a shot at B.P.
www.greenbaypressgazette.com/sports/archive/sports_20221988.shtmlCollege basketball analysis: Another UW hits jackpot in NCAA Tournament
By Rob Demovsky
rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
Teams ranked 14th in the nation usually are nice squads that have pulled off a couple of upsets during the year but hardly are candidates for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
This, clearly, isn’t your usual NCAA Tournament bracket.
That became evident when the University of Washington (27-5), which was ranked behind 13 other teams in last week’s Associated Press poll, was given one of the four No. 1 seeds. The others went to top-ranked Illinois (32-1), No. 2 North Carolina (27-4) and No. 5 Duke (25-5).
It helped that the Huskies knocked off No. 8 Arizona to win the Pac-10 tournament and that the league was ranked fourth in the final RPI rankings.
It also helped that the selection committee decided to wait until every game — even the late Sunday afternoon conference tournament finals — was over before it finalized the bracket. Had it finished its work before that, like it did last year, Kentucky likely would have been the fourth No. 1 seed. Instead, its loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game knocked the Wildcats down to a No. 2, much to the benefit of Washington, which was ranked third in the final RPI.
“It’s a big headache,” selection committee chairman Bob Bowlsby said during a conference call on Sunday night. “We had about five or six different scenarios (for No. 1 seeds) that involved about four teams, and a lot were either-or-type situations.”
Based on some seeds, it’s hard to know just how much the RPI mattered this year.
Take Vermont, for example. The Catamounts had an RPI of 26 and were given a No. 13 seed. The other three 13 seeds had RPIs of 47 (Louisiana-Lafayette), 48 (Ohio) and 57 (Pennsylvania).
LSU, which was one spot ahead of Vermont in the RPI, got a No. 6 seed.
Georgia Tech, which finished one spot behind Vermont in the RPI, got a No. 5 seed.
Then there’s Kansas, No. 1 in the RPI but a No. 3 seed.
Perhaps no team has an easier trip — literally — than Illinois, which plays first- and second-round games in Indianapolis (120 miles from Champaign, Ill.). If it advances, it would then play in Chicago (133 miles) in the regional semifinals and finals and in St. Louis (179 miles) for the Final Four, which begs this question: Has any team ever won a national championship without having to get on airplane?
Half of Wisconsin’s Division I teams made the field.
Wisconsin, which lost to Illinois in Sunday’s Big Ten title game, was a No. 6 seed in the Syracuse Regional and plays No. 11 Northern Iowa.
UW-Milwaukee, which won the Horizon League’s automatic bid, was given a No. 12 seed in the Chicago Regional and has a winnable first-round game against No. 5 Alabama as long as Bruce Pearl can manage to keep the champagne bottles away from his players.
It should come as no surprise that 25 of the 34 at-large bids went to the top six conferences. The Big East and Big 12 each got six teams in, while the Big Ten, SEC and ACC each sent five.
Before you fill out your bracket, here are some other factors to consider:
Toughest region
If you measure a region’s strength by its top-four seeds, the RPI says the Chicago Regional is the toughest. The top-four seeds — Illinois (No. 2 RPI), Oklahoma State (No. 7), Arizona (No. 9) and Boston College (No. 10) — all rank in the RPI’s top-10.
However, common sense says the Syracuse Regional — North Carolina (No. 4 RPI), defending national champion Connecticut (No. 14), Kansas (No. 1) and red-hot Florida (No. 20) — looks the toughest.
The weakest regional looks like Albuquerque with Washington (RPI No. 3), Wake Forest (No. 6), Gonzaga (No. 11) and Louisville (No. 13) given that the Huskies are a shaky No. 1 and Gonzaga and Louisville don’t play in power conferences.
Seven who can win it all
Illinois: The hiccup against Ohio State may have refocused the Illini. As long as one of its three star guards is hitting 3s, it’s unbeatable.
North Carolina: The most talented team in the country might finally get coach Roy Williams that national title.
Duke: This is not even close to the Blue Devils’ best team, but there’s something special about Coach K in the tournament.
Wake Forest: The third legitimate contender from the ACC, the RPI’s best conference in the country.
Oklahoma State: Final Four last year. Perhaps national title this year.
Kansas: Maybe coach Bill Self can finally do what Williams couldn’t at Kansas.
Syracuse: Hakim Warrick might be the most explosive big man in the country, and guard Gerry McNamara was big in the 2003 title game.
Six dream matchups
Here are some intriguing matchups to look for:
North Carolina-Kansas: The two could meet in the finals of the Syracuse Regional, and it would mean Williams would coach against the school he left two years ago.
Kentucky-Duke: In the finals of the Austin Regional. How many times would Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater against Kentucky in the 1992 tourney be shown during that game?
Duke-North Carolina: These rival schools, only a few miles apart, could meet in a national semifinal in St. Louis.
Illinois-UW-Milwaukee: In the Sweet 16, Illinois coach Bruce Weber, a Milwaukee native, could coach against his alma mater.
Charlotte-N.C. State: Often overshadowed by the state’s ACC schools, Charlotte could get revenge in the second round.
Five to fear
If you’re looking for first-round upsets, try these:
UW-Milwaukee: The Panthers are dangerous because of their press and streaky shooting, and they’re one of those dreaded No. 12 seeds that power conference teams like No. 5 Alabama hate to play.
Northern Iowa: UNI has great guard play (remember the name Ben Jacobson) and could give the Badgers trouble. The Panthers almost upset Georgia Tech in the first round last year.
Vermont: The Catamounts got ripped off by the committee. They’re way better than a No. 13 seed, thanks to player-of-the-year candidate Taylor Coppenrath. Syracuse better take them seriously.
Iowa: The 10th-seeded Hawkeyes might have saved Steve Alford’s job by getting into the tournament, and now they might be relaxed enough to knock off Cincinnati.
Old Dominion: Another dangerous No. 12 seed that drew Michigan State, which got knocked out in the first round last year by Nevada.
Last ones in
Considering they were the lowest-seeded at-large teams, Northern Iowa, UAB and UCLA (all No. 11 seeds) probably were the last three teams to make the field.
Last ones out
Based on RPI rankings, the last teams cut from the field probably were Miami of Ohio (RPI No. 40), Wichita State (45), Buffalo (46), Southwest Missouri State (52), DePaul (53), Maryland (55) and Indiana (59).
Local ties
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay played four teams that made the NCAA Tournament and went 1-4, splitting with UWM and losing road games against Michigan State, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin.
